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Ken Morales

@kbmorales.bsky.social
501 followers 217 following 55 posts

Data reporter fellow, @propublica.org Interests include fighting bad guys with math. Signal: kbmorales.02

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Reposted by Ken Morales
Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News @froomkin.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Thank you once again Politico for providing a canonical example of when not to grant anonymity.
"Looks like a pussy move to send a text instead of actually saying it to someone's face. Shows what kind of character he is," a senior White House official told Playbook's Megan Messerly.
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Stephen Spaulding @stevespaulding.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Today the Trump administration hit a new milestone. It filed its 41st application on the Supreme Court's shadow docket. Forty-one. That's how many it filed during the president's *entire* first term.
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William Turton @williamturton.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
In 2024 the former CEO of a defense contractor made a stunning confession to two FBI agents. He alleged that was the ringleader of a massive pay-to-play operation, bribing senators with campaign contributions in exchange for govt contracts. www.propublica.org/article/fbi-...
propublica.org
The FBI Anti-Corruption Squad Was Circling Susan Collins — Until Trump Got in the Way
After the FBI caught a defense contractor’s CEO making illegal campaign contributions, it sought to launch a sweeping political bribery probe involving Collins and others. Then the second Trump admini...
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ProPublica @propublica.org · 21/09/2026
The Supreme Court is making more and more consequential rulings in the shadows. Watch us break down how a once-rare emergency process became the norm — and what it means for public trust.
propublica.org
Watch: The New Supreme Court
For likely the first time in modern history, the Supreme Court decided more cases in fast-tracked, secretive proceedings than in open court. We break down how a once-rare emergency process became the ...
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Jason Leopold @jasonleopold.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
HUGE EXCLUSIVE from @bloomberg.com Inside the US ‘Kill Chain’ That Destroyed an Iranian School Pentagon investigators discovered that flawed intel, outdated imagery & overreliance on AI contributed to a missile strike that killed 123 children in Minab 🎁 www.bloomberg.com/graphics/202...
bloomberg.com
Inside the US ‘Kill Chain’ That Destroyed an Iranian School
Pentagon investigators have discovered that flawed intelligence, outdated imagery and an overreliance on AI contributed to a missile strike that killed 123 children in Minab.
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Kassie Navarro @kassien.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
SCOTUS has hit a troubling milestone: Most rulings are secretive votes from its “shadow docket.” Decisions have shaped electoral maps, abortion access and ICE stops. How did this become the new norm? @propublica.org dug through decades of rulings to find out. 🎥 www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mzyx...
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Spencer Ackerman @attackerman.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
In our remembrances today, let us hold a thought for the true victors of the War on Terror: the defense contractors. Today we have a roll call of everyone awarded military contracts on 9/11/26. Leading off is $19.1 billion for Boeing to provide weapons to Israel (and Japan) for the next 9 years.
war.gov
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Ariana Tobin @arianatobin.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
ProPublica is officially, formally open for tips in Spanish! We have dozens of excellent reporters with eyes on this line. www.propublica.org/tips/es/ Want to see the best of what we do? Read the Dominican Baseball stories we just dropped in Spanish or English: www.propublica.org/series/la-fa...
propublica.org
Cómo contactar con ProPublica o enviar una pista de forma segura — ProPublica
Nuestro trabajo es hacer rendir cuentas a las personas y a las instituciones. Para hacerlo, necesitamos pruebas.
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Jen Fifield @jenafifield.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Exclusive @propublica.org: Some U.S. Postal Service facilities failed to properly handle ballots during primary elections, according to new audit. The findings come as the Supreme Court weighs whether to allow USPS to regulate mail ballots during the Nov election www.propublica.org/article/post...
propublica.org
U.S. Postal Service Failed to Properly Handle Some Ballots During This Year’s Primary Elections, Audit Finds
An inspector general’s audit found a lack of training for post office staff, deficiencies in how ballots were tracked and errors leading to delays. Experts say it raises questions ahead of the midterm...
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Reposted by Ken Morales
ProPublica @propublica.org · 03/09/2026
Federal prosecutors today charged an ICE agent with lying about the shooting of a Venezuelan immigrant. Last night, we reported that the prosecutor had planned to bring more serious civil rights charges but was blocked by DOJ officials in D.C.
propublica.org
Trump’s DOJ Blocked Serious ICE Shooting Charge Over Federal Prosecutor’s “Strongest Possible” Objections
A prosecutor planned to file civil rights charges — similar to those brought against the officers who killed George Floyd — against an ICE agent. In an email we exclusively obtained, he reveals that T...
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Jen Fifield @jenafifield.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
1/ Just in: An anonymous federal worker has filed a whistleblower disclosure warning that the U.S. Postal Service's attempt to create a system to regulate mail voting for the midterms has been "rushed, chaotic, and fundamentally flawed." @propublica.org has the details 👇
Screenshot of the top of a whistleblower disclosure titled "USPS Rushed Implementation of New and Untested IT Systems Threatens U.S. Ballot Mail Delivery." Addressed to Senator Blumenthal, the first point details how the whistleblower has "significant concerns about the USPS's secretive, rushed, chaotic, and fundamentally flawed process for the creation and implementation of an entirely new and untested set of IT systems" intended for the 2026 midterms.
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Hansi Lo Wang (he/him) @hansilowang.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
SCOOP: After the Census Bureau issued a highly unusual report tied to a President Trump-aligned think tank, the bureau’s parent agency, the Commerce Department, cut language banning political interference from its scientific integrity policy, @npr.org has learned www.npr.org/2026/08/31/n...
npr.org
Trump officials cut political interference ban after unusual Census Bureau report
After the Census Bureau issued a report tied to a Trump-aligned think tank, the bureau's parent agency cut language banning political interference from its scientific integrity policy, NPR learned.
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Chris Geidner @chrisgeidner.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
NEW: What Monday’s Supreme Court election order ruling is and is not. The Republican majority gave Trump a temporary win. It could be short-lived — or it could “foment chaos,” as Justice Jackson wrote, calling out the majority in unusually direct terms. Tonight, at Law Dork:
lawdork.com
What Monday’s Supreme Court election order ruling is and is not
The Republican majority gave Trump a temporary win. It could be short-lived — or it could “foment chaos,” as Justice Jackson wrote, calling out the majority in unusually direct terms.
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Project Salt Box @projectsaltbox.com · 19/08/2026
🚨 Big changes to the PSB Tracker! Instead of focusing solely on warehouses, we pivoted to track ICE's unprecedented buy-up of private prison space, too. This new tool focuses on all jail space ICE has bought, for how much, and from whom. Old data is still available from the dropdown.
tracker.projectsaltbox.com
ICE Warehouse Tracker
Data Studio turns your data into informative dashboards and reports that are easy to read, easy to share, and fully customizable.
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Ken Morales @kbmorales.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
“But these are extraordinary times we’re talking about, and this is an extraordinary memo... it’s very troublesome to this court. And I think it would be very troublesome to most people if this were broadcast in The Denver Post” www.denverpost.com/2026/08/14/c...
denverpost.com
‘Smoking gun’ email shows White House summoned agencies to Colorado-focused meeting amid Tina Peters furor
A Trump assistant asked officials from five agencies to join a call “prepared to discuss immediate actions that your department or agency can take with respect to Colorado.”
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Reposted by Ken Morales
Doug Bock Clark @dougbockclark.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
1/ This spring, while investigating the Trump administration’s efforts to influence the midterm elections, my reporting partner @jenafifield.bsky.social and I noticed something unprecedented, something very troubling… 🧵👇
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Jen Fifield @jenafifield.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
A year ago, a midlevel Homeland Security Investigations agent proposed using the agency's databases to find noncitizens on voter rolls. The White House quickly got onboard. A new @propublica.org investigation reveals what happened next and how this unprecedented effort fell apart.🧵
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Ken Morales @kbmorales.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
The personal information of untold numbers of Americans, not accused of any crime, are being fed into Homeland Security’s massive surveillance apparatus. Analysts warned of an “ungodly number” of false positives: claims are in the hundreds of thousands. The number prosecuted so far is in the dozens.
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Ken Morales @kbmorales.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
Thank you for the cite @lastweektonight.com
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ProPublica @propublica.org · 06/08/2026
Have you ever noticed your monthly SNAP benefits are low? Every year, hundreds of thousands of people are the victims of EBT theft. If you think your SNAP benefits may have been stolen, we want to hear your story.
propublica.org
Have Your SNAP Benefits Ever Been Stolen? Help ProPublica Investigate.
We need your help to report on EBT theft. Please share this form with others in your community who’ve found their SNAP benefits disappeared.
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Reposted by Ken Morales
The Onion @theonion.com · 05/08/2026
Heat Safety Experts Advise Americans To Seek Privilege theonion.com/heat-safety-experts-ad…
Heat Safety Experts Advise Americans To Seek Privilege
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ProPublica Guild @propublicaguild.org · 31/07/2026
🚨 WE HAVE A DEAL! After three years, in a major step forward for our members, we have ratified our first contract with @propublica.org’s management. We deeply appreciate everyone who supported us along the way. Here are some of our big wins👇
A graphic poster reads "We have a deal! The ProPublica Guild has reached a deal with ProPublica's management on our first contract and has voted to ratify it. Swipe for the highlights [pointing emoji].
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Reposted by Ken Morales
Project Salt Box @projectsaltbox.com · 24/07/2026
ICE posted an RFI for over 1,000 "surge parking" spaces in 14 cities across the nation. While the posting doesn't state a specific time, it could indicate increased presence in those cities in the near future. sam.gov/workspace/co...
Screenshot of a list of cities and needed parking spaces.

Sacramento, CA - 40 spaces
Englewood, CO - 250 spaces
Dallas, TX - 85 spaces
Bakersfield, CA - 40 spaces
Roswell, NM - 20 spaces
Tukwila, WA - 100 spaces
Boston, MA - 249 spaces
Oxford, MS - 14 spaces
Las Vegas, NV - 25 spaces
Philadelphia, PA - 150 spaces
Pittsburgh, PA - 60 spaces
STL, MO - 30 spaces
New Orleans, LA - 20 spaces
Phoenix, AZ - 74 spaces
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tony romm @tonyromm.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
NEW: In a stunning admission, the Trump administration admitted in court documents that it canceled billions in energy grants to states "based solely" on politics -- and whether that state was represented by Democrats and backed Harris in 2024. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/24/b...
nytimes.com
Trump Administration Admits Canceling Grants to States That Did Not Vote for Him
Federal officials said in court documents that they halted billions of dollars in funding for energy projects to states “based solely” on whether they backed President Trump in the 2024 election.
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Freedom of the Press Foundation @freedom.press · 22/07/2026
📢 Are you a journalist who uses FOIA or other public records laws in your reporting? You could win $25K with our new journalism award, the Penlight Prize. Submission deadline: Sept. 1, 2026 Read more and apply today:
freedom.press
New $25K ‘Penlight’ journalism award honors paywall-free FOIA reporting
The Penlight Prize celebrates paywall-free reporting based on records obtained through the Freedom of Information Act or state public records laws.
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Reposted by Ken Morales
ProPublica @propublica.org · 16/07/2026
We found that thousands of parents have been separated from U.S. citizen children and at least 79 kids were doused with chemical agents. 🗓️ On July 21, join us for a virtual discussion on how children have been caught in Trump's immigration crackdown: propub.li/4fiHDSF
Text: How Children Have Been Caught in Trump's Immigration Crackdown: Join us for a discussion about how families and children are being affected in new ways by President Donald Trump's mass deportation campaign. Tuesday, July 21. 4 p.m. EST. Register at propublica.org/events. Events supported by the Diamonstein-Spielvogel Foundation. Image: A woman walks a young boy down a dimly lit hallway with blue walls.
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Free Law Project ⚖ @free.law · 18/07/2026
Woah.
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Reposted by Ken Morales
404 Media @404media.co · 17/07/2026
A new procurement record says ICE wants access to personal data, including names, Social Security numbers, and ethnicity, to investigate in part what the agency calls “voters fraud.” It also plans to use the data to investigate immigration fraud.
404media.co
ICE to Pay Thomson Reuters $125 Million to Find ‘Voter Fraud’
A new procurement record says ICE wants access to personal data, including names, Social Security numbers, and ethnicity, to investigate in part what the agency calls “voters fraud.” It also plans...
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Reposted by Ken Morales
Doug Bock Clark @dougbockclark.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
1/ Wondering what the FBI has been doing with 2020 election materials it seized in a raid earlier this year, and how it figures into Trump’s plans for the midterm elections? Well, @ProPublica has been working to find out. 🧵👇
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Mike Lissner @michaeljaylissner.com · 13/07/2026
Somebody made a tool for mounting a CourtListener case as a folder in Windows: github.com/garycal/cour...
github.com
GitHub - garycal/courtlistener-drive: Mount a CourtListener docket as a read-only Windows drive (WinFsp) you can drag PDFs from — lazy download, disk cache.
Mount a CourtListener docket as a read-only Windows drive (WinFsp) you can drag PDFs from — lazy download, disk cache. - garycal/courtlistener-drive
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Reposted by Ken Morales
Texas Tribune @texastribune.org · 09/07/2026
A Harris County prosecutor on Thursday said his office is committed to investigating the fatal shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo by an ICE agent. And four Houston Democratic members of Congress demanded that feds release footage of the incident. Here’s what you need to know. 🧵
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Ken Morales @kbmorales.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
Grateful for local Houston station KHOU youtu.be/FzekKKyaGvA?...
youtu.be
The son of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo spoke about the ICE-related shooting in Houston's East End
YouTube video by KHOU 11
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Reposted by Ken Morales
Jen Fifield @jenafifield.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
NEW The Justice Department is threatening to prosecute election officials across the country for failing to remove noncitizens from their voter rolls, an escalation of the Trump administration's attempts to prosecute election fraud, according to letters I obtained with Andy Mannix @propublica.org 🧵
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Ken Morales @kbmorales.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
1/ I looked at 20 years of Supreme Court decisions and found that for the first time, all nine justices decided more cases by secret ballot — aka the “shadow docket” — than it did for cases argued in open court last term. 🧵:
A line chart shows the number of Supreme Court decisions on the merits docket versus the shadow docket from the 2003-04 term to the 2024-25 term. The merits docket decisions trend downward over time, ending at 56 decisions, while the shadow docket decisions rise sharply in the 2018-19 term and surpass the merits docket in the last term at 63 decisions.
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Ken Schwencke @schwanksta.com · 01/07/2026
🚨 We analyzed the Supreme Court’s decisions over the past 20 years and found that for the first time, the court issued more consequential rulings on its “shadow docket” (unsigned orders often decided without arguments) than the traditional merits docket. www.propublica.org/article/supr...
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Charles Ornstein @charlesornstein.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
A Troubling Milestone: The Supreme Court now decides more cases using its shadow docket than it does on its merits docket, the first time ever that has been the case, a @propublica.org analysis found. @kbmorales.bsky.social
propublica.org
A Troubling Milestone: Most Supreme Court Rulings Are Secretive Votes With Little Justification
ProPublica conducted a new analysis that shows the court is deciding more consequential rulings than ever before in largely unsigned orders with little to no explanation.
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Jen Fifield @jenafifield.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
NEW: The Trump administration has shut down a controversial Homeland Security tool it had touted as a way to find noncitizens who’d illegally registered to vote, @propublica.org has learned. 🧵
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Ben Collins @bencollins.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
theonion.com/supreme-cour...
theonion.com
Supreme Court Rules Supreme Court Rules
WASHINGTON, DC—In a landmark decision Monday, the United States Supreme Court ruled 8-1 that it rules.
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Liz Szabo @lizszabo.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
So awful. This paper just won a Pulitzer and deserves another one for its coverage of ICE’s actions in Minnesota. A reminder that journalism layoffs have nothing to do with the quality of work. Minnesota Star Tribune eliminates 24 union jobs, primarily in newsroom www.mprnews.org/story/2026/0...
mprnews.org
Minnesota Star Tribune eliminates 24 union jobs, primarily in newsroom
About 175 employees remain in the newsroom, according to spokesperson Chris Iles. The company announced layoffs and buyouts for additional employees earlier in June.
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Jameel Jaffer @jameeljaffer.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
Compare Alito's description of Trump's racist statements (on the left) to Justice Kagan's anthology of Trump's racist statements (on the right). These are passages from this morning's opinions in Mullin v. Doe.
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Hell Gate *subscribe today!* @hellgatenyc.com · 25/06/2026
They finally did it. A group of reformers who have been fighting for years to overthrow the Brooklyn Democratic Party leadership on Tuesday won the majority they need to take over the county party and oust its chair, Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn. hellgatenyc.com/morning-spew...
hellgatenyc.com
A New Era for the Brooklyn Dems
And more news for your Thursday.
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WIRED @wired.com · 16/06/2026
A trove of internal records from a secret society for powerful figures in US politics, finance, and tech was left exposed online, WIRED has confirmed, naming participants in its events and revealing sensitive personal details they were assured would stay private.
wired.com
Leak Exposes Members of Peter Thiel’s Secretive ‘Dialog’ Society
More than 200 of the world's elites registered for a retreat whose agenda runs from panels on cult-building and sex to prepping for World War III. An associated app offers matchmaking.
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Justin Elliott @justinelliott.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
New: An Indian Billionaire was targeted by the Trump administration. Then he poured millions of dollars into a startup secretly backed by Donald Trump Jr. www.propublica.org/article/trum... w/ @josh-kaplan.bsky.social @amierjeski.bsky.social
propublica.org
An Indian Billionaire Was Targeted by Trump. Then He Poured Money Into a Startup Secretly Backed by Donald Trump Jr.
An obscure Texas firm secretly connected to the president’s son said it received at least $100 million from Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries. At the same time, the Ambani family secured major polic...
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Alec MacGillis @alecmac.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
One factor in the recent homicide decline was the Biden admin's clampdown on gun trafficking. Now, the Trump admin is pulling back on several fronts, raising odds that the flow of illegal guns will rise, with ill effects down the line. My latest @propublica.org: www.propublica.org/article/how-...
propublica.org
“No One Is Watching”: How Trump Reversed Biden’s Crackdown on Gun Trafficking
After Biden clamped down on the flow of illegal guns, Trump has referred fewer ATF trafficking charges for prosecution, eased up on irresponsible gun shops and shifted hundreds of ATF agents to immigr...
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Robert Faturechi @robert-faturechi.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
New: A top White House aide intervened to get a $620 million Pentagon loan for a company tied to Donald Trump Jr. “The call came from the White House: We have to get this done,” said one person involved. www.propublica.org/article/dona...
propublica.org
The White House Intervened to Get a $620 Million Deal for a Company Tied to Donald Trump Jr.
About three months before the Pentagon announced plans to lend money to Vulcan Elements, Trump Jr.’s venture capital firm took an undisclosed stake in the company.
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Josh Marshall @joshtpm.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
5/ defense atty parente speaking to the judge
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Keri Blakinger @keribla.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
The government appears to be trying to privatize the federal prison system piecemeal. This month, they've put out several RFIs for vendors to take over things like food services (!), medical (!!) and commissary. For example, here's the food services one:
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Charles Ornstein @charlesornstein.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
NEW: Prosecutors Had a Drugs-for-Votes Scheme “Locked Up.” Under Trump, They Were Told Not to Pursue Charges. By @raquelrutledge.bsky.social
propublica.org
Prosecutors Had a Drugs-for-Votes Scheme “Locked Up.” Under Trump, They Were Told Not to Pursue Charges.
Before the 2024 election, federal prosecutors were "full steam ahead" looking into how a prison gang in Puerto Rico gave drugs to inmates if they voted for a GOP gubernatorial candidate. After Trump’s...
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Brian Goldstone @brian-goldstone.bsky.social · 04/05/2026
I don't quite have words yet. I'm stunned, grateful, disoriented. My deepest, deepest thanks to the five families without whom this book would not exist. It has been the honor of my life to know and learn from you.
Graphic announcing the Pulitzer Prize winner for General Nonfiction to There Is No Place for Us by Brian Goldstone
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ProPublica @propublica.org · 03/05/2026
WATCH: The DOJ quietly closed 23,000+ criminal cases in the first six months of the second Trump administration, abandoning hundreds of investigations into terrorism, white-collar crime, drugs and other offenses as it shifted resources to pursue immigration cases. Full story: propub.li/4tHp2Wd
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